The type of home you can afford depends greatly on your financial obligations and your income. There are a lot of great tools online that will give you an idea of what you can afford, but the only way to know for sure is to meet up with a lender and go through the pre-qualification process. Doing this before starting a home search will ensure you don’t go out and find a perfect home, only to learn later that you can’t actually afford it. Additionally, a pre-approval makes your offer a lot stronger in the eyes of a seller. Once you’ve been pre-qualified, you need to start thinking about how you’re going to go about selling. Can you sell your current home and buy a new one at the same time? Obviously, the goal is only to move once, but making it happen is a tightrope walk. If you go ahead and purchase a home before you’ve sold your current one, you may over-extend your finances and put yourself in a tight spot. The other option is to sell first, but then you have to find a place to rent until you find a new home. Of course, you always have the option to put a moving contingency in your offer, but often sellers are not drawn to those types of offers.

A question that comes up a lot has to do with how many homes should be viewed before putting in an offer. Obviously, every buyer is a little different, but the average home buyer looks at about five homes before making a decision. The key is understanding what your needs and wants are, and also sharing that information with your agent. Once you’ve found the perfect house and your offer has been accepted, it’s important to get a home inspection. You have a right to a 10-day period where a professional will come out and take a look at all the major aspects of the home to take note of any defects. Buying a home is one of the largest, if not the largest, purchases you’ll make in your life, so the least you can do is invest a little bit of money in a home inspection.

Today, we have our listing specialist with us to answer some common questions that home sellers have in Orange Beach.

How much needs to be done before listing a home? A lot of sellers have anxiety about this, but really a home just needs to be cleaned, organized, and staged. The best thing that you can do is get the opinion of a Realtor to tell you what might need to be done to the home to sell for top dollar.

How long will it take my home to sell? This depends on a number of things. The condition of your home, your neighborhood, and your asking price will all be major factors in how quickly you sell. Nationally, the average is 100 days.

How much is my home worth? On average, the median home price is $228,000. But again, your home price will vary according to your area and the condition that it is in. A real estate agent can run a comparative market analysis in order to gauge your home’s market value.

What is the agent’s commission? On average, an agent will take home 4-6% of the sale price. This is usually split with the buyer’s agent. We recommend interviewing several different agents to see what they will do to get your home sold. An agent with a strong marketing plan is essential in today’s market.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!

The spring selling season is upon us, and buyers are out searching for good homes in Orange Beach and the Gulf Shores. We’ve done some research, and we have found that buyers are looking for a specific type of property right now.

Buyers are looking for 2 and 3 bedroom condos right now. There are not many of these available currently and buyers are waiting in line to see them once they become available.

Demand is sky-high for these properties, so if you know anyone that owns one or wants to sell one, please get them in touch with us. It could be a very lucrative time to sell.

If you’re planning on selling this spring, there are a few things you need to take care of before you list your home. Here are the top three tips to help you accomplish your selling goals:

Amp up curb appeal. Any change in seasons brings an opportunity to refresh the curb appeal of a house and make it feel more inviting.

Fix it and don’t forget it. Be proactive and take this opportunity to make easy fixes that you know are going to come up during a home inspection.

Market like you mean it. With the influx of new listings that come on the market each spring, you need to make every effort to make your home stand out among the competition!

If you have questions about how you can get the best possible results when selling this spring, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re always available to lend a hand.

Today we are going to talk about why you need to hire a real estate professional if you’re thinking of buying or selling in Gulf Shores. Here are 5 important reasons why:

1. Paperwork. An agent can help with filling out all the paperwork and disclosures necessary in today’s heavily regulated environment.

2. Experience. Agents are well educated and experienced with the entire home buying and selling process.

3. Negotiations. They act as a buffer with all parties throughout the transaction

4. Pricing. They help you understand today’s values when seeing the price of a listing, or sifting through multiple offers.

5. Understanding current market conditions. Real estate agents simply and effectively can explain today’s real estate headlines and decipher what they mean for you and your home buying and selling goals.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

Homeownership is an amazing opportunity to begin growing wealth and securing a brighter future for yourself and your family. Today, we have four very simple reasons why you should buy a home rather than rent.

You can protect yourself from rising rent prices.

It’s much more affordable to pay down a mortgage, and you’re also investing in your own wealth when you’re paying your mortgage.

You need to know your options. Many people have the ability to buy a home, but they just don’t realize it.

Don’t get caught in the renter’s trap where you cannot save enough money or build enough credit to purchase a home.

This year is going to be a great year to purchase a home. Rising interest rates are going to be pushing a lot of buyers out onto the market, so get an early start before it gets busy this spring!

Why work with members of our agent referral network?

The RepRealty.com Agent Referral Network was founded by Cal Carter, who was recognized as One of the United States' and Canada's Top 500 Marketing Experts by the National Association of Expert Advisors.

The National Association of Expert Advisors [NAEA] announced that Cal Carter had been selected as one of the United States' and Canada's Top 500 Marketing Experts. This was a huge honor considering there are more than 1.2 million agents practicing real estate between the two countries. The NAEA was proud to associate itself with Cal Carter and considers him a professional among professionals in the real estate industry.

As a successful real estate agent, Cal Carter understands that selling a home is more than a transaction. It's the fulfillment of someone's lifelong dream. By being a marketing expert, Cal Carter is able to help home sellers get more money for their home and home buyers to get access to a larger number of homes to choose from so they get the best home for their needs. He has successfully built a large network of referral agents across the United States and Canada that are equally adept at marketing real estate, homes, and condos.

More importantly, Carter is able to provide a selling or buying process that gives clients a more diverse suite of offerings, additional financial benefits and an overall more enjoyable experience.